Ka`u News Briefs September 26, 2011

Hawaiian Home Lands in Ka`u are at Kama`oa, Pu`ueo, Wailau and Wai`ohinu.

THE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS is researching the possibility of developing geothermal resources on Hawaiian lands and claims that ownership of the resource could exclusively belong to Hawaiians. According to a story by Civil Beat writer Sophie Cocke, a DHHL committee released a report last week asking the Legislature to make clear “the Department of Hawaiian Home Land’s inalienable rights to the minerals.”
     However, the state government claims it is the state that owns all mineral rights on all lands in Hawai`i. According to Civil Beat, Puna Geothermal paid $12.6 million in royalties between 2001 and 2009. Half went to the state, 30 percent to Hawai`i County and 20 percent to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The geothermal resource made electricity for Hawaiian Electric Light Co.
     Guy Kaulukukui, a Volcano resident and deputy director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, told Civil Beat that the issue of mineral rights is relatively new in Hawai`i. He said the state did not transfer mineral rights to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands.
     Some DHHL staff members and supportive attorneys, however, argue that Hawaiian Homelands in place before statehood retain mineral rights.
     Hawaiian Home Lands in Ka`u include thousands of acres on the South Point peninsula. They are located at Kama`oa and Pu`ueo. The other Hawaiian Home Lands in Ka`u are at Wailau and Wai`ohinu.
     Several geothermal development groups have been organized by native Hawaiians.

Street trees and rock walls could be threatened by a proposed sidewalk in Na`alehu.  Photo by Marge Elwell

THE DEADLINE for comments on the plan that would put sidewalks down the mauka side of Hwy 11 in Na`alehu, threatening rock walls and street trees, is this Friday, Sept. 30.

     Council member Brittany Smart said that she contacted project manager Rachel Roper about concerns voiced by the community. Individuals have expressed concern about the possible loss of trees and parking area across from Na`alehu Park.
     Roper’s response was that any plan should be consistent with community values. “We do not want to unnecessarily impact the community,” she said.
     The plan can be read, and comments can be made, at hawaiipedplan.com or 808-587-6395.

KA`U FEDERAL CREDIT UNION is concentrating its operations at its main headquarters in Na`alehu, Monday through Saturday, and in Pahala on Friday. All Ocean View members, where the credit branch has closed, can use online banking, phone services and walk-in services at the Na`alehu office, Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Manager Cheryl Weaver said that the consolidation was made as a cost-cutting measure and to retain overall services for credit union members.

Peter Anderson's Nene won the Ka`u
Chamber of Commerce's Directory
cover art contest last year.

VOTING BEGINS today for the cover art for the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce Directory 2012. Artists delivered their submissions on Saturday to the Ka`u Federal Credit Union, and voting by the public takes place this week during credit union business hours. The Directory is Ka`u’s phone book and resource publication. Deadline to submit listings and advertising is Oct. 31. Applications are online at kauchamber.org or call 928-6471. 

WHILE GAS PRICES AVERAGE under $4 a gallon on the mainland and are under $3 in some places, gas in Hawai`i averages $4.24 cents a gallon, having gone up three cents during the last week. Gas prices this morning in Ka`u were: Ka`u Gas Pahala, $4.32; 76 Station Na`alehu, $4.37; Kahala Gas Ocean View, $4.38; Kahuku Country Market Ocean View, $4.32. 

MANA I KA LEO: THE POWER OF THE VOICE will be shown at After Dark in the Park tomorrow at 7 p.m. The documentary film examines the cultural importance of oli, the Hawaiian tradition of chant. It won the Audience Award for Favorite Short Film at the 2010 Hawai`i International Film Festival. After Dark is held in the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park Visitor Center Auditorium. A small donation is requested.

Ka`u News Briefs September 25, 2011

The documentary film Mana I Ka Leo: The Power of the Voice will be shown at After Dark in the Park 7 p.m. Tuesday.

NANI KAHUKU `AINA’S DRAFT Environmental Impact Statement for its Kahuku Village resort development has been republished online, this time including comments from the public that had been inadvertently omitted. The deadline for additional public comment has been extended to Nov. 6.

     The Draft EIS can be seen on the state Department of Health website under the Office of Environmental Quality Control. It is titled Kahuku Village DEIS. 

     The plan calls for state Land Use Commission reclassification of Conservation land near the ocean to Urban for hotel, condominium, estate, housing, golf course and commercial development. The resort would be set on the coastal section of 16,000 acres between the Kalae South Point bluff and Ocean View Ranchos, makai of the Kahuku section of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. It would be constructed on the coastal plain below Kahuku Ranch. The developers have promised Hawaiian and wildlife educational centers and protection of the turtle nesting grounds at Pohue Bay. They have offered land for community buildings, including a veterans center. 

     According to the EIS, the development has the following triggers for an EIS: reclassification of approximately 1,600 acres from the State Land Use Conservation District to the State Land Use Urban and Rural Districts; development of a Hawaiian Heritage Center, roadway, infrastructure, and ancillary improvements within the State Land Use Conservation District; possible use of the shoreline area as defined in Section 205A-41, HRS, for trails, signage, resource management, and recreational and cultural purposes; proposed highway intersection improvements on Mamalahoa Highway (a state highway facility); amendment of the County of Hawai`i General Plan to recognize Kahuku Village and allow for its development; development of a helicopter facility; development of a wastewater treatment plant; and possible development of a biofuel power generating facility.

THE NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LAB and Hawaiian Electric Co. are working on a solar integration study to determine how much solar energy could be used on its grid while maintaining reliability.
     The study goes beyond the smaller customer-owned sites for which electric bills are offset by the solar power they are providing to the utility. The study is to plan for the eventuality of large solar farms, the largest solar facility in the world being planned for Pearl Harbor on O`ahu and others being considered across the state.
     The study will gather data about the operating characteristics of a system with high penetrations of solar power. The state Public Utilities Commission also opened a study on reliability standards for HECO Maui Electric Co. and Hawai`i Electric Light Co. Relying totally on solar power is considered risky since the sun doesn’t always shine and the power is difficult to store. HELCO president Jay Ignacio said recently during a public `Aina Koa Pono meeting in Pahala that his company is looking toward many different ways of providing alternative energy, including biofuel, which it plans to purchase from the refinery planned for a site between Pahala and Wood Valley.

Art show coordinator Wanda
Aus encourages everyone to
vote for their favorite piece.
Photo by Michael Neal 

JUDGING FOR THE ARTWORK for the cover of The Directory 2012, Ka`u’s annual phone book and information guide, begins tomorrow at Ka`u Federal Credit Union in Na`alehu during business hours. The annual contest drew some top artists who brought in their submissions yesterday, creations in many different media that exude the feeling of this place called Ka`u. The public is invited to choose the next Directory cover by casting votes all this week. The Directory 2012 is expected to be distributed throughout Ka`u in January. 

     The deadline to renew or place an ad or listing in The Directory 2012 is Oct. 31. Applications are available online at kauchamber.org or by calling 928-6471.

KA`U FEDERAL CREDIT UNION has brought its Ocean View branch back to Na`alehu, where the hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
     General manager Cheryl Weaver said that phone lines will be open to help members with everything from balances, transfers and check requests to loans. Direct deposits are available through employers, the Social Security Administration and other income sources. Automatic loan payments can be organized. Automatic bill pay can also be set up through the credit union’s online banking at kfcu.org. Call 929-7334.
     The Pahala office is available to assist members on Fridays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

MANA I KA LEO: THE POWER OF THE VOICE will be shown at After Dark in the Park on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The documentary film examines the cultural importance of oli, the Hawaiian tradition of chant. It won the Audience Award for Favorite Short Film at the 2010 Hawai`i International Film Festival.

Kehaulani Ke jumps for the kill while Denisha Navarro, Kerrilynn Domondon
and Shyann Flores-Carvalho provide support.  Photo by Nalani Parlin

YESTERDAY BOTH JV AND VARSITY GIRLS volleyball faced off against the Kohala Cowgirls in the Ka`u High gym. Ka`u High JV won both sets 25-22, 25-15. Freshman Aysha Kaupu served well, while setter Kerrilynn Domondon, also a freshman, turned wild balls into strong plays. Classmate and teammate Kehaulani Ke lent her strong arm for several points. 

     Kohala Varsity, whose team sports several seniors, was determined to best the young Trojan team, who beat the Cowgirls on home turf earlier in the season. The Trojans have just four seniors, with one of them totally new to the sport. After a rocky start, Kohala won the first set, but Ka`u powered up to win the second. The Trojans easily took the third set on the back of a 12-point service streak by junior Marley Nicolaisen. However, errors by the Trojans gave Kohala the edge to win the fourth set, and an exciting battle in the tie-breaking set ultimately led to the Trojans’ loss. Set scores were 22-25, 25-21, 25-9, 14-25 and 16-18. Marley Nicolaisen led the Trojans in kills.

Ka`u News Briefs September 24, 2011

Today is National Estuaries Day, and Honu`apo is one of the estuaries being protected in Ka`u.
Photo from The Trust for Public Lands

OWNERSHIP OF KAWA will not go to a contested case hearing before the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, according to a vote taken by the BLNR yesterday in Honolulu. Abel Simeona Lui asked the board for the hearing in an attempt to prevent the state from passing along funding to the county to complete the purchase of the land for an endangered species preserve and park. However, the board went along with a Department of Forestry and Wildlife recommendation to reject the contested case and to stay out of any ownership question about the land. The county is expected to soon complete the purchase of the popular surfing, fishing and beach-going property with funds from county property taxes as well as the state and federal governments. Lui has lived on the land for many years and claims ownership and rights related to the Hawaiian Kingdom. He said earlier he would sue the BLNR if it rejected his request for the contested case hearing.

KA`U WOULD BE CUT IN HALF, according to proposed state reapportionment maps. Tentative maps for redrawing the state House of Representatives districts would put the population from Na`alehu through Ocean View into a district with residents up the Kona Coast beyond Kahalu`u. The state reapportionment commission will vote on the maps this coming Monday in Honolulu.

A proposed reapportionment map splits Ka`u into
two state House of Representatives districts.

     The proposal has drawn criticism, particularly from Ocean View residents who say they want to keep their Rep. Bob Herkes, of Volcano, who would no longer be eligible to run for office to represent them. Herkes has campaigned for potable water for Ocean View, the mobile health care van and protection of the South Kona Wilderness area.
     The commission voted to pull out some of the non-resident military personnel who were counted in the census used for drawing the new voting district lines. Some critics, including Sen. Malama Solomon and the Hawai`i County branch of the Democratic Party, have threatened to sue the commission unless enough military are taken out to guarantee the Big Island a fourth state Senate seat. This county’s 25 percent population growth over the last decade requires the commission to adjust the voting district lines so that everyone is represented fairly.

REDRAWING THE COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT lines will go to public hearing in Ka`u on Oct. 12 at Na`alehu Community Center at 6 p.m. The county redistricting commission held its last meeting before the public hearings yesterday. The county has experienced an almost 25 percent population growth in a decade, which means that lines must be changed to ensure that each County Council member represents approximately the same number of people all around the island. Ka`u residents have been lobbying to prevent the Ka`u district from being split in half in the state redistricting for the House of Representatives. The County Council district could also be changed, shifting toward Puna and/or Kona. Public input will be taken over the next month, with the redistricting completed by the end of the year. Three proposed maps are being considered for the redistricting for County Council.

The old Pahala gym plans show traditional architecture.
It is on the Hawai`i Register of Historic Places.

DESIGN OF THE NEW GYM and community disaster shelter in Pahala could include rooflines and other architectural elements of the surrounding school buildings and Pahala Village, according to a recommendation by the Ka`u Plantation Days Committee. The group has asked the state, which has sent more than $17 million to the county to build the facility, and the county, which is tasked with building the gym and shelter, to consider that buildings on the campus are on the Hawai`i Register of Historic Places. The new structure could be the largest in the town and be visible from many homes and other vantage points. Members of the Ka`u Plantation Days group said they sent in their suggestion before the design is made in order to offer input without any delay or extra cost for the project. They said that Pahala is becoming known for its historic buildings. 

     The old Pahala gym will be retained for sports and other activities.

NO NEW PLANNING COMMISSIONER from Ka`u for now. That is the way the County Council voted this week in turning away Mayor Billy Kenoi’s nomination of Chris Manfredi to become an at-large member. Manfredi represents a land investment company that owns some 6,000 acres in Ka`u. The hui recently received permission from the county planning department to subdivide 2,000 acres, including the farms where many of the Ka`u Coffee growers have developed a post-plantation economy for their families on leased land. Supporters noted Manfredi’s numerous volunteer positions on community boards and his work in promoting Ka`u Coffee. Ka`u’s planning commissioner is Raylene Moses, of Wai`ohinu.

The Ka`u High varsity football team looks forward to home-
coming next Saturday at 6 p.m.  Photo by Nalani Parlin

KA`U HIGH SCHOOL’s varsity football team held the undefeated Kamehameha Warriors, whose team numbers were twice that of the Trojans, to 35 points at the Pahala ball field. End of quarter scores were as follows: 1st quarter 8-0, 2nd quarter 15-0, third quarter 22-0 and fourth quarter 35-0. Next weekend is homecoming. The Trojans play Kohala on Saturday beginning at 6 p.m. 

ARTISTS ENTRIES are being accepted today for the cover art competition for the next Ka`u Directory, sponsored by the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce. Entries of art in any media are accepted until 11:30 a.m. at Ka`u Federal Credit Union in Na`alehu. Voting will be all next week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the winner will be announced at the End of Show celebration on Saturday, Oct. 1 from noon to 2 p.m.

TODAY IS NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY, and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is waiving entrance fees. Volunteers can do trail work and help remove invasive plants in the park. Call 985-6314.
     Kilauea Military Camp conducts an Open House for visitors to experience how KMC supports America’s troops. All KMC facilities and services, including guestrooms, are available to the general public. Call 967-8371 for more information.

Sen. Daniel Akaka

TODAY IS ALSO NATIONAL ESTUARIES DAY, as proclaimed by a resolution co-sponsored by Sen. Daniel Akaka. “Our estuaries and coastal areas provide critical habitat along with recreation, tourism, and business opportunities,” Akaka said. “In Hawai`i, we believe strongly in malama `aina and malama kai – caring for the land and caring for the ocean – and healthy estuaries are key to both. On this National Estuaries Day, we are reminded to redouble our efforts to protect these valuable natural resources.”

EMBRACING `OHI`A is a group exhibit that opens today at Volcano Art Center Gallery. Members of the Pacific Island Printmakers show their works daily through Nov. 6 at the gallery from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The opening reception is 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. tonight.